there's also a series of spending cuts that will also be triggered by the fiscal cliff. $1.2 trillion in sequestration will kick in beginning january 2nd. next year alone, $109 billion will be slashed. half from the defense budget and half from nondefense spending. the so-called doc fix would also go away, reducing medicare payments to doctors by 27%. and finally, unemployment benefits will run out for more than 2 million americans who have lost their jobs. benefits will only be available for up to 26 weeks, a drastic reduction from the 73 weeks available to some out-of-work americans. i want to go to sam stein, but first, dr. sachs, if we go over the cliff, it is the poor americans who will be hit the hardest, correct? >> well, there are parts of that where the poor will be hit the hardest. but if we make a deal right now of the kind that's being talked about, it's going to gut the federal budget for a decade to come. so we're on the brink either of these difficulties right now, which are real, or making terrible decisions that are going to lock us into a situation that we absolutely